Evelyn's Mystery Books

  The Trixie Belden book that found me today in the charity shop. I found this somewhat tattered Trixie Belden book in a charity shop in Mount Isa, Australia, today. I went into the shop quickly to browse for a book to read during my ten days in the field for my geology work, and this book caught my eye when I was browsing the bookshelves.  I already own a copy or two of this book, but this somewhat worn copy was destined to come with me into the field. I don't have to worry about damaging it during my travels, and it's the perfect Trixie Belden book to read in late October close to Halloween. Do you ever feel that a book finds you at just the right time to read it? Well, I think that's what happened with this book today.

My first two Connie Blair books. I received my first Connie Blair books in the mail this past week. This book series in hard to find here in Australia, but I did manage to find copies of the three books that were published in paperback in the late 1970s. Two of those books arrived this week, and a third book is on its way from the seller. The books are not in great condition, but nevertheless I like these little books. I'll take them to read during some upcoming work travel. I will try to track down copies of the hardcover books, and possibly also the paperback books that were published in the 1960s. I did order two hardcover books that were fairly inexpensive (including international shipping) to start my Connie Blair collection properly, but they will take a few weeks to arrive. I like how all of the books have a color somewhere in the title - that's very clever. Here are two more pictures of the books: The fronts of the books. The backs of the books. ...

Two UK edition Susan Sand books. Excitingly, I have found two more UK edition Susan Sand books: #7 "The Search for the Snowship Songs" and #8 "The Mystery at Beggarbay Bluff". I am thrilled to have found these because the #7 and #8 Susan Sand books are fairly hard to find. Generally the UK editions are very hard to find, although they are likely much easier to find here in Australia compared to in the USA. The books were reasonably affordable and are in fairly good condition. Book #8 is a little crumpled but still in decent shape. Here are some more pictures of the books: The spines of the books. The backs of the books. Interior page - book #7. Title page - book #7. List of other books - book #7. Book order page - book #7. Interior page - book #8. Title page - book #8. List of other books - book #8. So far I've found UK versions of books #5, #7, and #8 in the Susan Sand series. I need to keep my eyes out f...

My gorgeous rare Susan Sand book! I recently obtained a rare version of the first Susan Sand book: an Advance Reading Copy of "The Mystery at Hollowhearth House". This book was produced just as the series began, to promote the series. The book format is similar to the later published version, except that there is an extra banner on front and the back has promotional text instead of the plot summary, which is instead located in the interior of the book. The book also does not have a price, ISBN number, or barcode. All of the Susan Sand books are scarce, but this book is truly rare. I only know of one other series book collector who has a copy. Not many of the Advance Reading Copy books would have been published, and probably most of the ones that were published did not survive. I feel very fortunate to own one! I found the book by accident. I ordered the book from Thriftbooks for $8 US, including shipping to Australia. There were no pictures of the book, but it was d...

My beautiful new book! I recently received a new Severn House edition Dana Girls book, a copy of "Mystery of the Wax Queen". I bought this book from a seller in the UK, and it took awhile to arrive. I'm so happy that I bought it, though, since the book is in beautiful condition and not ex-library. It is apparently very difficult to find copies of these Severn House books that are not ex-library, so I feel that this one is a real gem. Here are some more pictures of the book: The back of the book. The spine of the book. The title page. The copyright page. The Table of Contents. The side of the book. It really is in excellent condition. A couple of the interior pages. Here is the book compared to the other hardcover and softcover version: The fronts of the books. The backs of the books. I have found three of the Severn House editions so far: My three lovely Severn House books. The books on the shelf. I bel...

Two more Susan Sand books. I'm continuing to build my collection of Susan Sand books. I received two more books in the mail today. The first book is a very worn copy of book #4 "The Riddle of Raggedrock Ridge". I bought this book from ThriftBooks fairly cheaply, including the cost of shipping from the US to Australia. I knew that the book wouldn't be in good condition, but that's fine since I want a copy for reading. I'll work on getting a better copy of the book later. The second book is a copy of #3 "The Clue in the Witchwhistle Well", which is also very worn. I bought it very cheaply for $3.25 AUD. Since the Susan Sand books are rare, I am buying whatever ones I can find at decent prices in Australia. I'm ending up with some extra copies, but that's fine. Perhaps one day I can pass some along to another series book collector or someone who I know will enjoy reading the books. I also plan to keep two sets of books for myself: a go...

Some new (to me) Susan Sand books. I received a few more Susan Sand books in the mail this week. I'm buying all of the ones that I see for sale on Australia ebay. These books are fairly hard to find, so I'll pick up extra copies when I see them at reasonable prices. I received three new US edition books. Two of these are in fairly rough shape, but that's fine -- I'll read these ones. Then, excitingly, I received my first UK edition Susan Sand book. The UK editions have interesting picture covers. Unlike the US versions, there are no internal illustrations. The UK editions are also thinner than the US editions. Here are some more pictures of the books that I received today: The fronts of the books. The backs of the books. Here is a side-by-side comparison of the US (left) and UK (right) versions of "The Phantom of Featherford Falls": The fronts of the books. The backs of the books. And here are a few more pictures of the UK ...

My new Susan Sand books. Today I received a lot of three Susan Sand books in the mail, and I am so excited to have more of these books to read! The books in this lot are a little worn, but that is fine because then I won't feel bad reading them. I'm very happy with this purchase -- I only paid $20 AUD for the three books. Here are some more pictures of the books: The fronts of the books. The backs of the books. I have a few more Susan Sand books coming in the mail. I'll share pictures when they arrive.